RC RF with a zipzap tutorial

[krillindb]

It doesnt go tooooooo fast but it isnt super slow. It is slightly faster than the one that mirax has in her MLC helmet. I suppose you could slow it down by installing some sort of dial type switch that controls how much power gets to the servo. I dont think you need it to be slowed down but it is up to you.

Edit: Video clip added

http://200.72.163.179/cdref/tdh/avatar/rcrf.wmv

 

[phantom viper]

Well, I went to KB yesterday and they had no mini RC cars Looked at wal-mart and they have others for $17.99 and up. But I am still on the look out. I may be working at radio shack soon so I mite get a discount And I will be able to keep you updated on sales.

 

[MaxPlague]

krillindb wrote:
A servo is a motor that has things like a potentiometer in it and what not. Basically a high torque motor. All you need is the motor that is in the case. But keep it in the case.

This is what a servo looks like:
http://www.servocity.com/ServoCity/Products/Hitec_Servos/HS-422_Super_Sport/Hitec_HS-422.gif

Is that the servo you got? It appears that whatever you got is nice, compact and strong.

Nice tutorial by the way.

 

[krillindb]

Well, that is not the servo i got, i just linked to that one to show what a servo was. What i got was this:

http://www.parallax.com/detail.asp?product_id=900-00005

I did'nt buy it, but like i said i got it for free from a friend who gets them from there. What i did to it was just gutted it and left only the motor and gears.

Nice: Well it works for my needs.
Compact: yes and no. less there cause i gutted it and no because it is still wide where the motor is.
Strong: maybe, i gotta test t with some rf lights to see how much it can lift.

 

[Jango Fett Jr]

I just started on mine, but I realized my servo was digging into my skull. Off to find a smaller one.

 

[krillindb]

AWW... Sorry to hear that JFJ. I do know of a place where you can get a smaller servo:

http://www.servocity.com/ServoCity/Products/Hitec_Servos/hitec_servos.html

The first one on the list is tiny. it is the size of a quarter.

Just remember that i gutted mine out except for the gearing and motor. So everyone, dont be shocked that there are 3 wires. when you gut it, you re attach 1 wire to each of the 2 ends of the motor.

 

[J ROCK]

Hey krillindb, I tried your tutorial last night and it worked perfectly!! ...but my servo is too big to fit in my helmet....

 

[krillindb]

Excellent, someone finally tried it! Glad to hear it worked for you! Sorry to hear it is too big :cry , you might want to try and buy a smaller one from servocity.com.

 

[Yroc Yar]

hello all ,
i have been triing to get this to work with the little blue servo called the HS-50 from servo city .but for some reason it will not work . maybe it has something to do with the 3rd. wire . it is yellow and when hooked up to the black wire it moves a little but then stops . and it does nothing when hooked up to the red wire .also ...does anyone know what the voltage difference is for this one and the one that everyone else is using ? this one says " operating volts of 4.8 " i may have to get the other servo after shelling out $27.95 for this one.

 

[krillindb]

Well BH2372,
I checked and the servo i used is 4.8-6 volts , so your micro servo should work. Remember what i said though. I Gutted mine before i installed it so all i was left with was 3/4 of the casing, the gearing and the motor. That way i could just wire 1 wire to each lead on the motor, making it have only 2 wires coming off of it.

And as for your locking problem. I experienced the same thing when i tried to wire it to 2 buttons to make it a manually operated RF. But that was before i hooked up the rc board. After i tried ther rc board i had no problems.

Hope that helped. If you need more help continue to post and i'll do what i can to help!

 

[Jedi Bob]

Is is possible to see a pic of the gutted servo?

Thanks

 

[krillindb]

Sorry but i cant show you any good detailed pics of it because i didnt take progress pics of it when i made mine. But i can however show you what it looks like inside my helmet. I took off the cap to show the connections to the motor.

It is gutted so it has an "L" shape.

 

[Yroc Yar]

i see , i'll try gutting it . that should work . and thanks , cory

 

[krillindb]

Quick update, just to let everyone know who is currently or will be doing this in the future that there is a new zipzap model out at radioshack. they are called zip zaps SE. DO NOT buy one of the SE's, there are many changes done to these newer versions and i'm not sure of how to hook up a servo to one of these. So remember if you are gonna do this that you should buy an origional zip zap and NOT the SE.

 

[Jedi Bob]

I bought one that is called RALLY RACERS - FUL FUNCTION RADIO CONTROL CAR - says, complies with Part 15 FCC Rules, R/C 45 MHZ.

It was $9.99 at KB Toys.

Will this work???

 

[krillindb]

It should work, have you opened it yet? It should work as long as the circuit board looks like the one i pictured above. And for $9.99 you might as well try it! If it is what i think it is, than it is packaged in a hard plastic clear bubble with a round base. If so, i have one of these and it is wired just like a zipzap. Only diffrence is the wire color. The 4 wires are colored with read and black. 2 red and 2 black wires. Just remember which ones attach to the motor housing and which 2 attach to the battery.

 

[Yroc Yar]

hey ,
i got mine working , but i will tell everyone , DO NOT use the little blue servo called the HS-50 .it is way to small and can't handle the wieght of the RF.it has trouble bringing the RF back into the up position , because it is so small .so i ordered the one shown in the pics by krillindb , that should do it .

and that did it . it works great and incase anyone was wondering where to put your r/c control device , i found a place . i put it inside my left gauntlet . and when you push on the calculator pad it is as if you are pushing the buttons to make it work .this completelly conceals the controls from the outside world . here is a pic . later , cory

http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/texsfett/vwp?.dir=/fett+stuff&.dnm=zip+zap+r+c++in+left+gauntlet.jpg&.src=ph&.view=t

 

[krillindb]

Fantastic idea, and i must say great work BH2372. I love the gauntlet idea. Glad it worked for you!

 

[DarthVader1]

Man, I went to the local Radio Shack, and they're thieves or something like that...for a "Country-a$$" town where I'm staying at (military-wise, not by choice), they have the Zip-Zap's for almost $20 for the kit (car, remote, a few more pieces extra, etc.)...what a RIPOFF!!! :angry

I went to Walmart (basically, next door), and I found a similar kit for about $13-$15. Heading back to Walmart tomorrow, and I hope that those ones works with me.

Man, upgrading and/or improving my Fett is not a cheap choice or a joke...but I want Bobo's lights to "shine" and be usefull.

Robert

 

[Sleezy]

DarthVader1 wrote:
Man, I went to the local Radio Shack, and they're thieves or something like that...for a "Country-a$$" town where I'm staying at...

...I went to Walmart (basically, next door)

:confused You're not in my "country-a$$" town, are you? I live in Louisville, KY, down the road from Fort Knox, and my radio shack is almost next door to Walmart, with a Kroger and a pet store inbetween.